John Devone appears in Superior Court, in Bridgeport, Conn., March 21st, 2013. Devone was arrested on March 12th and charged with custodial interference when his 3-year old son was seized by state police. The boy was returned to his mother, Brittany Finley, who lives in Georgia.

John Devone appears in Superior Court, in Bridgeport, Conn., March 21st, 2013. Devone was arrested on March 12th and charged with custodial interference when his 3-year old son was seized by state police. The

BRIDGEPORT -- A city police sergeant Thursday entered a not guilty plea to charges that he interfered with the custody of his grandson.

Johnny Devone, 63, was arraigned at state Superior Court in Bridgeport just minutes after his son also pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

Devone, wearing a dark gray suit, did not speak during his brief court appearance. His attorney entered the plea for him.

A supervisor in the detective bureau, Devone is charged with interfering with an officer and custodial interference. His case was continued until June 11. Devone declined comment after the hearing.

The 29-year Bridgeport police veteran was placed on paid leave March 21, a day after he publicly charged that Connecticut State Police "kidnapped" his 3-year-old grandson.

Devone, who earns $71,276 a year, is accused of blocking state police efforts to return his grandson to the boy's mother, Brittany Finley, even though she had two orders from a Georgia court and one from a local judge to return the boy to Georgia.

Armed with a search-and-seizure warrant, about a dozen members of the state police went to Devone's home to get the boy in the middle of the night on March 11, only to be told by Devone that the child was somewhere in Massachusetts. Devone also said he would not help state police locate the boy, the arrest warrant affidavit states.

A witness subsequently directed state police to a house a few streets away where they found the child with his grandmother, Devone's wife, the affidavit states.

When state police got Devone's cellphone records, they discovered he had been on the phone with his wife just before state police came to his home.

Finley and City Sheriff David Goodman had previously complained that Bridgeport police had blocked their efforts to get the boy despite the court orders.

John Devone, the police sergeant's son and the father of Finley's child, also entered a not guilty plea Thursday and was given the same return court date of June 11.

Josephine Miller, the younger Devone's lawyer, said outside the courtroom that her client will seek a jury trial "because we believe that he shouldn't have been charged. We'll take this as far as we have to."

John Devone, the father of the child, waived extradition and is now waiting to be returned to Georgia to face charges there in connection with the case.